Examine



Dec. 22, 1925 CROSS REFERENCE 1,566,550 J. E. MCWILLIAM,

RAILROAD TIE Filed Jan. 16. 1925 EXAMINEI To all whom it may Be it known that I Juana E. McWmm, a citizen of the lIn'ited States, -resid- Patented s... 22, v1925. w

Flea.

IABMCEUSITTS.

Application lied January 18, 1025. Serial l l o. I386.

concern:

ing at North Oxford,

in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have V invented a new and useful Railroad Tie, of 1 which the'following is a specification.

This invention relates to a sleeper or tie for. railroad beds and to other heavy supporting elements.

The princi al objects of the invention are to provide a urable tie which will not have the r' 'dity have fi e last I6 crete ties are not met with in this case.

i' vention W111 appear hereinafter.

structed in accordance of Fig. 1.

of solid concrete, but yet will g qualities, and also to provide a sleeper or tie which can be produced independently of the lumber market and be made of materials that are comparatively inexpensive and are certain to remain inex nsive, at least for a lon period to come.

am aware of the fact t at many forms of concrete ties have been invented and tried,

but so far as I know, they have all been open to the objection that in use they produce so much noise as to render them ractically useless on that account; and rther on account of their rigidity they cause other difiiculties, particularly in the manner of fastening the rails, and even in the fatigue of the rails themselves, and that they are generally regarded as impractical for this use. It is for that reason that I have sensed a sleeper or tie formed largely of concrete and having the durability't ereof,

but yet of such a flexible nature that the difiiculties heretofore encountered with con- Other objects and advantages of the in.-

Reference is to be had to in ldrawings, in which p 'g. 1 is a plan of a concrete tie showing the position of the rails thereon and conwith this invention; ofthe same; and view on the line 3-3 the accompany Fig. 2 is an end view Fig. 3 is a sectional One of the minor objects of this invention is to provide a market for certain kinds of material which are in this count dance and can now entirely wasted and which occur in abunthe future, for comparatively small sums.

tie is produced by taking brush-wood .and

limb wood of fine or coarse character and of any kind or any species that happen to be use for this purchased now, and far into available and cutt' into lengths of sa but limb wood even several inches in diameter canbe worked up in this manner so n p t. 1,566,550 5 PATENT or as to produce a mass of twi and shreds of limbs or branches that can veniently. When used in the described this material will and sticks to tie to handled conmanner to be furnish fibers ther the concrete structure into which it 18 to be placed, thus adding to its strength. This material is mixed with cement and sand in a mixing machine and poured into a mold to produce the desired form of sleeper or foundation. By the mlxing operation each shred and twig of wood is entirely covered with the concrete and when poured into the mold the concrete settles al around and between the small particles of wood and forms a solid body of concrete in which the wood is encased The pieces of wood extend through it in eve direction, no attempt being made to contro the lie of the wood ieces therein. The idea of this is not on y to tie the cement by the wooden shreds and twigs but especially to relieve the cement from its ri 'dity the quality which has prevented its purpose before and to make use of the otherwise wasted wood stock which exists in this country in large quantities.

I Althou the ties can be made of this mix- .ture as a ve described, I will describe a preferred embodiment of the invention and process of preparation which has all the qualities mentioned and some others. This consists in mixing two parts by volume of cement three parts sand, one part lime, three artsthe wood material above descri and three parts old rubber. The old rubber can conslst of rubber tires, boots or other waste rubber broken up and shredded in machines which are now in existence for that purpose. In fact, it may contain in addition to the rubber fabrics, cord and felt that is in the rubber itself, as well as particles of tough but yiel ing materials, preferably of a fibrous nature. These materials are Q r H rope, twine, leather and other thrown into a cement mixer, supplied with the necessa amount of water and mixed up thoroug y so that every particle of wood, rubber and fibrous material of all characters is thorough] coated and soaked with the cement in a quid state and also surrounded b a body of that material in the mixer. T e cement in the concrete mixer is then poured into molds for the production of the slee rs or ties. As described above, this pr uces a product which is of the nature of concrete because air and moisture cannot get to the materials inside. These are arranged at all angles and in all directions within the article and they tend to add a degree of elasticity which renders the roduct comparable to a log of wood or to the ordinary wooden sleeper now in use. It absorbs the ordinary vibration and sound and does not weaken under constant blows such as these articles are sub'ected to in ractice. Although any partic e of rubber, or instance, whic may lie along the surface might be attacked by acids or moisture in the course of time that results only in roducing a small weak spot near the s ace and cannot seriously weaken the tie itself. The parts inside are absolutely protected from such action and will last as long as the concrete which is practically indestructible by the elements. When a train passes over a track supported by such ties there is no more noise than if it were supported by wooden sleepers the vibration 1S absorbed and there is no discomfort to the passengers on the train. The ties do not have to be replaced at frequent intervals as is now the case and the danger of their deterioration and resulting expense therefrom is reduced to a A sleeper 10 constructed in accordance with this invention can be made in man forms but in the drawings I have illustrated a preferred form in which the sleeper is cast bottom side up in a mold and is so shaped that it tapers on the ends and sides outwardl toward the bottom which rests in the 8011. This flared bottom is a matter of some importance because resting as it does in the ground, it furnishes an additional cushion.

In constructing this sleeper, I prefer to cast a layer of plain concrete 9 1n the bottom of the mold before casting the tie and. a similar layer 8 on top afterwards to provide two smooth surfaces. I also cast two cavities 11 in the upper surface thereof, that is, the bottom surface while it is in the mold. At the bottom of each cavity I place a layer 12 of yielding material such as either live or old rubber, felt, leather waste or the like. On this I place a wooden block 13 fitting in the cavity and originally projecting a little above the upper surface of the tie. This wooden block is made with the grain vertical to maximum durability and strength against pressure and when the 14 are placed in position they will rest on these blocks. Through the sleeper I cast holes 15 through which bolts are hold down the usual rail clamps. he rails are clamped down on the block and brought into contact with the u per surface of the sleeper. In this way t e rails themselves prevent the entrance of moisture into contact with thedwooden bloizks .1t"handf into 1the opemn' gs or epressions 1. ere ore t ey will last as long as the tie or at an rate as long as the rail and can be inspec when a new rail is laid.

This furnishes a wide wooden surface at the bottom of the rail which becomes a cushion and reduces the chance of the tip in of the rails sideways. It constitutes a shoe laced to absorber because whenever a blow is struck on to of the railand the rail reacts up war y, this block, due to the spring material 12 below, will follow the bottom of the rail and keep in close contact with it at all times. Thus the noise is obviated. Nevertheless the rail normally rests, on both sides of the block and, in fact, all around it, on the concrete where it has a solid support, but the concrete as described above also has suflicient resiliency to prevent the difilculties due to vibration that has been described above.

In the manufacture of the concrete block, the date or any other data can be cast on it easily while it is being made, as is well understood.

.Althou h I have described this invention as applie to the manufacture of railroad ties or sleepers I am aware of the fact that it can be used for other supporting elements as foundations for buildings or machinery and in general in all places where a concrete su port is desired, with a reduction in cost an an increase in the utility thereof. It is particularly valuable for foundations for large machinery where the vibration of the running machine is absorbed to a large extent and the noise of its operation reduced.

Although I have illustrated and described only a single article and only one specific com tion for its manufacture, I am aware of e fact that modifications can be made therein by any rson skilled in the art without departing m the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore I do not wish to be limited in these respects but what I do claim is:-

1. As an article of manufacture, a railroad tie consisting of cement and pieces of wood cut up into short lengths mixed intimatel with the cement and located throng out the body thereof in the finished article with the grain extending in all di-. rections therein.

2. As an article of manufacture, a concrete railroad tie formed of cement, sand, wood in small ieces and shredded rubber in approximate y equal proportions.

3. As an article of manufacture, a railroad tie consistin of a solid block of concrete mixture an having a wood block at each end for receiving the pressure of the rails to be laid thereon but of less width than the base of the rail so as not to take 10 all the weight of the rails oif the concrete composition tie, said blocks of wood being arranged with the grain vertical to better resist crushing and other strains, and a piece of yielding material under each block to permit the block to be forced back into contact with the top of the tie by the pressure of the rail.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto afiixed my signature.

JAMES E. MCWILLIAM. 

